Access related glossary

Academic Awards Academic awards mark the outcome or successful completion of a course or programme of study that leads to a Rwandan qualification such as a degree, diploma or certificate. The National Higher Education Qualifications Framework for Rwanda provides details of higher education awards that may be offered.

Academic Quality Academic quality describes how well the learning opportunities available to students help them to achieve their award. It is about making sure that the appropriate and effective teaching, support, assessment and learning opportunities are provided.

Academic Registrar The Academic Registrar is the senior manager responsible for all administrative matters related to the recruitment, assessment and progression of students , and conferment of awards. The Academic Registrar is responsible for maintaining and interpreting the Academic Regulations and overseeing the organisation of graduation ceremonies. The Academic Registry should normally have four departments - recruitment, assessment, awards and graduation and a secretariat that clerks Senate and Senate Standing Committees.

Academic Staff See college tutor, lecture, tutorial assistant

Academic Standards The level of achievement a student has to reach to gain an academic award. This level should be comparable to similar programmes across Rwanda and be internationally credible for the level of the award. External examining is one way of maintaining these standards within higher education institutions. The Rwandan National Qualifications Framework for Higher Education provides guidance on the learning outcomes and standards expected at each level of higher education across five dimensions – subject knowledge and understanding, subject skills, cognitive skills, and generic and graduate skills.

Accreditation Accreditation is the process leading to the granting of a definitive Operating Agreement to a private provider of higher education. See Definitive Operating Agreement.

Affiliated Institution A higher education institution that does not have qualification awarding powers of its own , but offers the awards by a higher education institution that has qualification awarding powers and to which it is affiliated. The institution is managerially and financially independent but, the qualification awarding institution is responsible for assuring the quality and standards of the awards. An affiliated institution works within the requirements of the validating institution to assure the standards of the programmes and awards they offer in the name of that validating institution. See Collaborative Provision

Assessment Assessment is academic work done by students and marked by academic staff – both formative and summative. It includes course work, laboratory reports, practical exercises, dissertations, presentation, in-course examinations and end of module examinations. Assessment can be formative – designed mainly to provide feedback to students on their performance, and summative- primarily to contribute to the award of academic credit.